Inspirator for producing super-finely pulverized particles of liquid medicine for curing diseases



June 13, 1967 RYOHEl 3,324,852

INSPIRATOR FOR PRODUCING SUPER-FINELY PULVERI-ZED PARTICLES OF LIQUID MEDICINE FOR CURING DISEASES Filed Aug. 12, 1963 INVENTVOR BY m; {/5

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3 324,852 INSPIRATOR FOR PRlODUCING SUPER-FINELY PULVERKZED PARTICLES 0F LIQUID MEDI- CINE FOR CURING DISEASES Ryohei lwai, 60 Asahigaoka, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan Filed Aug. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 301,318 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-173) The present invention relates to an improvement in inspirators for producing super-finely pulverized particles of liquid medicine for curing lung diseases.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of the super-fine particles inspirator which has a very compact and simplified construction operable with a single electric motor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inspirator which can pulverize even a very small quantity of new and expensive liquid medicine in order to avoid the loss of medicine and to facilitate convenient use.

For a better understanding of the invention reference is taken to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation of the inspirator embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view on the line AA of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view on the line BB of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 represents a cylindrical casing of the apparatus having an annular recess 2 at its bottom for reserving the liquid medicine and is hermetically closed at its top by a cover 3. 4 represents a motor to be coupled to a vertical shaft 5- supported at its lower end on the bottom of easing on a bearing and to the shaft are fixed screw blades 6. 7 represents an eccentric disc rigidly secured to the shaft 5, said eccentric disc cooperating with a frame 9 having the shaft 9', 9 projecting in opposite directions to operate the pistons (not shown) in oppositely arranged compressors 8 consisting of reciprocating pumps. 13 represents delivery pipes from the compressors 8, each of which is connected to the sprayer 10 secured to the inside of the casing 1 at its lower part in opposite position with each other.

The sprayer 10 is provided with a suction nozzle 11 and injection nozzle 12, the lower end of the suction pipe 11 being dipped into the medicine reservoir in the recess 2. 14 represents an inspection window for facilitating the fixing of sprayer 10 and inspection of nozzles 12 and is normally closed by a cover 14'. 16 represents a protective cover screwed on top of the casing.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The cover 3 is provided with a small delivery hole for the pulverized liquid medicine to which is connected a delivery pipe, not shown. Before beginning operation liquid medicine is supplied to the casing and fills the bottom reservoir 2. When motor 4 is energized to turn at a suitable speed, the eccentric disc 7 operates a set of oppositely arranged pumps 8 as compressors and feeds compressed air through the delivery pipes 13 to the nozzles 12 of the sprayer, then liquid medicine is sucked up by the negative pressure produced at a nozzle and ejected by the air pressure as a spray and pulverized to somewhat fine particles which are further acted upon by the screw blades 6 to be more finely pulverized into finer particles by additional tbeating action of blades 6. To assist the pulverization there are provided several guide blades 17 on the inside wall of the casing 1. The super pulverized medicine particles can maintain their mist-like condition for a considerably long time and are mainly collected on top of the casing and delivered through the hole 15 by means of a delivery pipe (not shown) to patients.

In heretofore used inspirators of such kinds, as the result of actual experiments, the agitating pipe and suction injector type have various disadvantages, i.e., in agitating (propeller type atomizers) the atomization of medicinal liquid in the reservoir is mainly due to the agitating effects of the propeller so that it required a voluminous chamber for atomization and accordingly, when the quantity of medicine is small a sufficient pulverizing effect can not be attained and a large quantity of expensive medicinal liquid should be reserved without use and moreover there occurs some oxidation of the medicinal liquid during the atomization. In suction type atomizers there is a limitation of the kinds of nozzle of natural inspirator so that it is difficult to atomize a large quantity of medicine into a fine fog except that it is very convenient to enable the atomization of even one drop of very expensive new medicine. As the result of experiments over a long period the inventor has accomplished the present apparatus by considering the advantages and disadvantages of known apparatuses and the invention is based on the principle that even a very small quantity of expensive medicine can be completely pulverized and the atomized particles further finely pulverized by combining the nozzle 12 and agitating blades 6 and by the use of a single vertical motor for operating a set of oppositely arranged compressors, thereby making the total construction very compact and powerful so that the inspirator of the invention can be more conveniently used without the disadvantages of the known apparatuses of such kind.

What I claim is:

1. An inspirator for producing a mist, comprising a casing having a reservoir for liquid in the bottom thereof, a protective cover screw-threadedly mounted on the casing, a motor within said cover and having an upright drive shaft that extends through the top of said casing and that is supported for rotation at its lower end by the bottom of said casing, eccentric means carried by said drive shaft, a pair of oppositely disposed reciprocating air compressors driven out of phase with each other by said eccentric means, a pair of sprayers disposed in said casing and each having a suction nozzle for liquid and an injection nozzle for compressed air, conduit means interconnecting the outlet of each of said compressors with a different one of said injection nozzles, conduit means interconnecting each of said suction nozzles with said reservoir, and agitator blades carried by said drive shaft in said casing for further dividing particles of liquid emitted by said sprayers, said casing having an opening therethrough for the exit of mist from said casing.

2. An inspirator as claimed in claim 1, and fins on the inside of the casing at the same level as said agitator blades to cooperate with said agitator blades in the comminution of liquid particles.

3. An inspirator as claimed in claim 1, said eccentric 5 4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 254,988 3/1882 Lockmann 128-1732 3,169,524 2/1965 Langevin 128173 FOREIGN PATENTS 150,224 2/1953 Australia.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

w W. E. KAMM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INSPIRATOR FOR PRODUCING A MIST, COMPRISING A CASING HAVING A RESERVOIR FOR LIQUID IN THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A PROTECTIVE COVER SCREW-THREADEDLY MOUNTED ON THE CASING, A MOTOR WITHIN SAID COVER AND HAVING AN UPRIGHT DRIVE SHAFT THAT EXTENDS THROUGH THE TOP OF SAID CASING AND THAT IS SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION AT ITS LOWER END BY THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING, ECCENTRIC MEANS CARRIED BY SAID DRIVE SHAFT, A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED RECIPROCATING AIR COMPRESSORS DRIVEN OUT OF PHASE WITH EACH OTHER BY SAID ECCENTRIC MEANS, A PAIR OF SPRAYERS DISPOSED IN SAID CASING AND EACH HAVING A SUCTION NOZZLE FOR LIQUID AND AN INJECTION NOZZLE FOR COMPRESSED AIR, CONDUIT MEANS INTER- 